Hear from students in Whitely Secondary School, Singapore as they share their experiences of how the Amgen Biotech Experience sparked their interest in science discovery.
At Amgen we are guided by our mission to serve patients. The joy of discovery is a feeling that unites all our scientists no matter their origin, gender, or age.
Designing STEM outreach programs for K-12 classrooms often becomes a balancing act between ambitious goals and limited resources. Scientific equipment is just one kind of resource, but one that is unavailable to many schools. Time is a less obvious resource, but time away from classroom curriculum is becoming increasingly hard for teachers to justify with their administrators. And personal access to relevant experts – face time with actual scientists – is a resource that many programs don’t even get to add to their wish lists.
For Cammi Valdez, undergraduate research was a pivotal moment in her life. It was her first exposure to thinking critically about a single question and the first time she could delve into thinking about creating something novel. Now program manager for the Harvard University Amgen Scholars Program, Valdez loves seeing that transformation occur for students participating in the undergraduate research experience.
In high school, Marvin Gee was fortunate to get a jump start on his research career, working at the National Cancer Institute. Cancer had been a personal interest of his because of the death of his uncle who battled with the disease. His early exposure to bioscience research helped him realize that biology is like a complicated puzzle. It all eventually fits together to make perfect sense.
There is a significant and cyclical literacy crisis facing America today and it begins with our children. 34 percent of children entering kindergarten lack the basic skills needed to learn how to read, and when faced with this disadvantage at such a young age, kids are starting down one of the toughest paths they will ever take.
